What are the Member Clubs of the MCofS like?
Clubs were the founding members of the MCofS in 1970 (see The History of the MCofS). There are over 125 clubs in Scotland as Club Members of the MCofS. They are as different to each other as there are different hills in Scotland!
- They range from a small gathering of friends to major clubs with over 600 members.
- Some are associated with particular companies and membership is limited to employees and they are University Clubs for students
- Some are locally based groups, whilst others are national clubs
- Some have entry requirements for membership, others do not
- Some are invitation only clubs
The activities they participate in vary; some clubs have members who specialise in only one main activity whilst others undertake the full range of disciplines:
- rambling at low level
- hill walking (summer and/or winter)
- backpacking
- rock climbing, winter climbing, scrambling, mountaineering
- indoor climbing
- ski-touring/mountaineering
- Alpine mountaineering & Himalayan Mountaineering
- Trekking
How active the club is can also vary:
- Some may only operate as a loose collection of ‘friends’ meeting up for weekends using their own transport or even only meeting up occasionally on an ad-hoc basis
- Others have a highly organised Meets Calendar with trips in Scotland, the UK and abroad
- Some clubs own their own club huts
- Many of the bigger clubs have indoor meets during the winter usually in a pub where a programme of slide shows, guest lectures and arrangements for meets are held
- Some clubs, usually the bigger ones, have their own newsletter and yearly journals, which document the activities of the members
- Some clubs have a range of benefits (offer gear pools of equipment for use by members, events for beginners, cater for disabled members, )
- Most clubs in Scotland do not cater for individual children without active participation of their parents as well
- There is one ‘women only’ club in Scotland, and there are clubs that are very family oriented
- Many clubs now have websites
‘Active Participation’ or being ‘Led’?
One of the fundamental differences between outdoor clubs is the degree of personal responsibility they expect their members to take. There are two different approaches:
- Being Led - some ‘rambling’ clubs and some hill walking clubs arrange trips where the walks themselves are organised and graded as to their ‘difficulty’. ‘Leaders’ are assigned to each walk and participants need only turn up with suitable outdoor gear and they can be led along an interesting walk. They may not have to take responsibility for navigation or other decisions while they are out and are not expected to develop their own skills.
- Actively involved - most hill walking clubs and virtually all mountaineering and climbing clubs holding membership of the MCofS, do not operate principally as led groups. Instead they act as facilitators for their members to get to their chosen walk or climb. They may organise transport and accommodation, and may suggest possible day time excursions, but leave the decisions about the days objectives and personal safety to the individuals. More experienced members of the club who are willing to take beginners out will do so as part of the meet, but it may be less formal than in leader-operated clubs. Such clubs expect beginners to learn from their members how to become self reliant and be able to take responsibility to make their own plans and decisions on the hill in the future.